For tried-and-true media fiends, there is no life without a steady supply of magazines. But over the last decade or so, more than a few favorite publications have shrunk editorial content, grown dependent on press releases, and littered perfume samples everywhere. For those reasons, we're thankful for
GOOD magazine's declaration that not all great glossies are gone or forgotten. GOOD's list of the
51 Best Magazines Ever led us back to some classic runs of publications like Esquire (#1), The New Yorker (#2), Rolling Stone (#11), and Wired (#8). The list also reminded us of the eye-splitting magic of Ray Gun (#40) and the prescience of Brill's Content (#41), among other magazines that have gone on to the great archives in the sky. The fact that Vanity Fair editor
Graydon Carter, who put the list together, recognized the half-century of genius that is MAD magazine (#6) should be reason enough to keep this list as handy as any old rag you subscribe to now.